  Milwaukee Member Username: Milwaukee Post Number: 681 Registered: 08-2006 |
Does anyone have any stories or memories of Hudson's? What was it like inside? Were all the floors for shopping or were they for other things? Were there any restaurants? When did the store peak, when did it begin to die? | ||
Milwaukee Member Username: Milwaukee Post Number: 682 Registered: 08-2006 |
Any photos from inside? Did it have a great lobby? | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 841 Registered: 11-2003 |
You would find at least some answers with a Google search. Then seek out these books, along with old newspaper articles. Hauser, Michael, and Marianne Weldon. Hudson's: Detroit's Legendary Department Store. (Images of America). Arcadia, 2004. Available for $14.19 on Amazon. Out of print but good: Pitrone, Jean Maddern. Hudson's: Hub of America's Heartland. Altwerger and Mandel, 1991. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 130 Registered: 12-2006 |
Milwaukee, It peaked when Detroit peaked, '40s through the early '60s. It began to die, in a way, when Hudson's opened the first suburban store at Northland Mall in about 1954 or so. (Some of the bloggers can correct me if my dates are wrong.) The freeway system, which took hold here more than just about anywhere, decimated downtown in general and Hudson's in particular. I worked for Chuck Muer, a restaurant genius who had got his start operating the restaurants at the downtown Ponchartrain Hotel in 1964. By 1978-79 or so, the downtown business had dwindled enough that he questioned the long-term viability of that restaurant, and he closed it in (I think) 1983. By then he had enough suburban and out-of-state restaurants that he could close the restaurants at "the Pontch" without it affecting his company materially. The downtown Hudson's closed shortly thereafter, and the Stroh's Brewery closed in another year or so. The 1980s were particularly cruel to the City of Detroit. I'm not an expert on the internal layout of the downtown Hudson's though, so let's hope some of our other correspondents come through on that. | ||
Mcwalbucksnfitch Member Username: Mcwalbucksnfitch Post Number: 37 Registered: 10-2006 |
If you get the Images of America book, it has an example of the internal layouts. Great photos too. As for mid-upper floors, floor plans were choppy because the entire building was addition after addition. | ||
Milwaukee Member Username: Milwaukee Post Number: 683 Registered: 08-2006 |
Thanks guys. I'll look up that book, it sounds great. I was hoping to hear more stories about what it was like. I know a guy who grew up in Detroit in the 60's. He just said there was something magical about the place. He had great experiences there. Was it anything like Macy's Herald Square or Marshall fields in Chicago? | ||
Jman Member Username: Jman Post Number: 15 Registered: 10-2006 |
I remember going downtown to Hudson's with my Mother in the forties and early fifties. My Mother would always dress up and wear a hat and white gloves. We would take the Woodward streetcar down and return in a taxicab. We would have lunch at the Mayflower coffee shop and also shop at D.J. Healy. While at Hudson's my Mother never failed to take me to the 12th floor (I believe) so I could look at the vast assortment of toys. I remember that above the 10th floor the escalator has wooden steps. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 887 Registered: 04-2006 |
My earliest rememberence of the building was meeting dad there after work. Mom took us down on the Joy Rd/Dexter bus. We bought a vaccum cleaner, saw Santa, and went to eat at a diner in a basement that was nearby (I think it was on Grand River, but I can't remember). This was in the late 60's or early 70's. | ||
Carolcb Member Username: Carolcb Post Number: 27 Registered: 11-2006 |
Did anyone else go to the Hudson's Charm School? I wish I still had that peach colored book they gave us! | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 683 Registered: 01-2005 |
The jewelry store on the main floor was a jewel box in itself. Quiet and luxurious, it was fitted with european style cabinetry that was sold to a place in Texas when the store closed. Reminds me of the European paneling and rooms that were brought over here, as in the Ford House in Fairlane. The Woodward Shop - beautiful, exclusive clothes sold, not by hot young things, but by mature women who knew how to speak with the well-off matrons who were the only people who could really afford such clothes in those days. The fur models were women in their fifties and sixties! I know because my aunt was one. Young women did not have furs then - it was thought. | ||
Milwaukee Member Username: Milwaukee Post Number: 695 Registered: 08-2006 |
bump | ||
Mtm Member Username: Mtm Post Number: 171 Registered: 06-2006 |
(Okay, so I'm dumb. What the heck is "bump" supposed to mean?) Memories of downtown Hudson's? * I remember the door pulls which were large brass JLHs. * I remember the Micky Mouse sundaes at the 13th floor restaurant. Wasn't too impressed because they were just a scoop of vanilla ice cream with two oreos for ears. * I remember buying the living room curtains for my first apartment in Palmer Park from the "bargain basement". * I remember going across the covered alley to the Annex where they had Marvelous gourmet treats and watching for trucks while I crossed. * I remember countless times riding the bus downtown with Mom and my siblings, all of us dressed in Sunday best, to shop and hitting Sanders across Woodward, before Dad would pick us up on Library. * I remember Mom once getting her high-heel caught in the wooden slats on the escalator and them having to shut it down until they could release her shoe and her being very embarrased at inconveniencing others. * I remember the elevators with their Up and Down globes and the elevator operators, with white gloves, announcing the floors and their contents. * I remember lamenting the Woodward Mall that Coleman built that made it so difficult to cross Woodward to get to the store. (IMHO the ultimate cause of her demise.) * I remember the last day it was open. A friend from work and I went there for lunch. I had the shrimp salad on toasted cheese bread - Mom's perpetual favorite. I wanted to toast the "old Lady" (the store, not my Mom) out in style with champagne but the waitress wouldn't open a bottle for just two glasses. So, I bought the whole bottle and, after our two glasses were filled, asked her to share it with anyone else in the restaurant who also wanted to toast. * I remember shedding a tear when she fell... (Message edited by mtm on January 31, 2007) | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 205 Registered: 07-2006 |
'bump' just moves it to the top of the page, to avoid drifting off to the bottom where it can be overlooked. as for the topic itself, unfortunately my parents never took me there, since it's an hour away and they are regrettably a lot more cynical when it comes to Detroit. I was still a few years from driving when it closed, so I have no memories of my own of the store. Fortunately, I've found countless stories here and elsewhere that have brought it to life for me, although I still wish I had seen it for myself. By the time it was demolished, I had discovered an interest in architecture, in particular old buildings like Hudsons, or most anything downtown, as well as an interest in the developments going on in Detroit. Also at the time, I was working at a department store as a visual merchandiser (displays, and setting up departments). My store paled in comparison even to the few pictures I had seen at that time of Hudson's. I remember looking at pictures of it and thinking 'wow, this is what a department store should be - not this crap we do here.' I still think that today, with every picture I see. It was absolutely mind-boggling to me that anyone could destroy something like this. I made a point to watch the demolition, and I too shed a tear when the building fell. But if anything, it cemented my interest in Detroit, to learn more about these buildings before more met the same fate. Thank you to all of you for sharing your stories. | ||
Jimg Member Username: Jimg Post Number: 770 Registered: 10-2003 |
My memories are typical, it seems. Ride to My Uncle's medical office (Medical Arts at 6/Woodward), get the streetcar downtown to JLH. I was in awe of Hudson's. Always. Everything, from the elevators, brass door trim, the whole place symbolized money, importance, class to me. Visiting Santa every xmas. Escalators all the way up and down, I remember the steps were wood. Busy, always busy. Nice salesgirls. Hot Fudge Sundaes. No other store could compare. | ||
Walterwaves Member Username: Walterwaves Post Number: 54 Registered: 01-2007 |
From what I can remember, Hudson's looked what Macy's on 34th looks like in Manhattan as far as decor. I miss that place. | ||
Neilr Member Username: Neilr Post Number: 436 Registered: 06-2005 |
When I was growing up, our next door neighbor was Mr. Doyle Vaughn. He was the purchaser of men's furnishings for JLHudson's. Every morning he would walk to the corner to get the bus downtown. He always wore a suit and tie. He always wore a hat, and depending on the weather, a good wool topcoat, or if needed, a raincoat and an umbrella. Mr. Vaughn was a WWII veteran. His name was listed on the large bronze plaque that was mounted on the first floor of Hudson's (since moved to Northland) that honored people from Hudson's that served during the war. I always would stop to see his name on my visits. | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 6028 Registered: 09-2005 |
I remember several visits during 1975-76 when what used to be the taxi drive-up (on Farmer?) was lined up with 5-6 police cars. Every so often, the door would open, a shoplifter would be placed in the back seat, and that cop car would drive off. The next would pull up and wait. It continued all day. It seemed then that the end was near. During the "glory years" as recounted on several earlier threads, the place was magic, unequaled anywhere, and probably never to be matched. One fact from one of the books on Hudsons: Due to massive increases in business, the phone system was replaced completely in the early 1950's. The new phone system was the 2nd largest in the world, surpassed only by the Pentagon's. Another interesting feature never to be seen again: my Mom would sometimes shop all day at Hudsons, but wouldn't bring home any packages. They were delivered free, the next day, by the familiar green Hudsons trucks. It was a brilliant marketing strategy: by never burdening shoppers with packages, they would be less tired, more apt to shop longer, and forget what they had purchased (and how much they'd spent) as the shopping day went on. RIP, Hudsons. | ||
Bobzilla Member Username: Bobzilla Post Number: 69 Registered: 11-2003 |
That was a great post by MTM. It was nicely written ... she presented 10 good memories of Hudson's ... and some of her memories were particularly good ones -- like the champagne on the last day. I grew up thinking that Hudson's was the big store at Northland Mall. But this thread deserves more bumps to keep it toward the top. Maybe a few more people can share some memories of the downtown Hudsons store. | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 1896 Registered: 10-2003 |
Adding the link to our recent discussion on Christmas at Hudson's: https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/91697/89529.html Hopefully this thread will grow to Hall of Fame status. I know we've had much discussion of Hudson's in the past, but I think those threads were lost in the crash. | ||
Cman710 Member Username: Cman710 Post Number: 234 Registered: 07-2006 |
Any of you interested in Hudson's should take the time to visit the Macy's store on 34th Street in Manhattan if you ever visit New York. In some ways, it sounds similar to Hudson's in history and style. And at least as of about 5-10 years ago, they still had some wooden escalators. The rocking sound they make is memorable. | ||
Mtm Member Username: Mtm Post Number: 172 Registered: 06-2006 |
Thanks, Bobzilla, for the kind remarks! Karl, I, too, remember the delivery trucks. In fact, beside my home office desk, I have a hatbox and hat that were delivered to my Mom years ago - back when we had zones rather than zip codes. Yes, they would even deliver a simple hat so the customer didn't have to carry it. The hat is a kind of Mamie Eisenhower pink flowered thing that would cover the crest of the head. Although I wear hats from time to time, I wouldn't wear it though it looks perfect sitting slightly atop the box. As I mentioned in an earlier thread, Hudson's delivery service had really declined toward the end. We had to seriously push to get an original painting delivered because it wouldn't fit in our car. They were afraid of the liability of it getting damaged and we had to hang the sale on the delivery. | ||
Kronprinz Member Username: Kronprinz Post Number: 17 Registered: 12-2006 |
My father (born and raised in southern Illinois) lived with an aunt in Detroit while he attended Wayne U. from 1949-1952. He told me once he came home early one afternoon and "the man from Himelhoch's" was there helping his aunt pack for a trip! That really made an impression on him considering his own mom probably never had more than three dresses before in her life. I'll have to ask him if he ever went to Hudson's. | ||
Cushkid Member Username: Cushkid Post Number: 64 Registered: 08-2005 |
What is currently in the Himelhoch's building on woodward, I know about the wierd restaurant that never was on washington. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 345 Registered: 04-2006 |
Yeah, Macy's still has wooden escalator's on the upper floors. | ||
Mtm Member Username: Mtm Post Number: 176 Registered: 06-2006 |
so make sure NOT to wear high heels on them... What are now thought of as stilettos were just simple high heels in Mom's day. Amazed that she could walk hours in those things! | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3546 Registered: 08-2004 |
Cushkid, are you referring to the window display that looks like a restaurant dining room with all the table candles bent over from the heat. | ||
Jjw Member Username: Jjw Post Number: 243 Registered: 10-2005 |
The Hudson's experience was fantastic but there was so much more. Going downtown was a day-long experience starting with the bus ride. We always went to a movie and shopped at a number of stores. Some of the smaller stores along Woodward had dressing rooms that looked right out on the street. And, many times, we would hit the ballpark for a baseball game and then go out to dinner after the game. And... the Sanders on Woodward was SO GOOOD. And Crowleys was a great store too. I could go on and on. To this day, my holiday shopping is only done in the downtown areas. | ||
Cushkid Member Username: Cushkid Post Number: 65 Registered: 08-2005 |
Yea, I was wondering what is on the woodward side, or in the building in general, it still seems to be in use and I was wondering if it is still a public space. (Message edited by cushkid on January 31, 2007) | ||
Norwalk Member Username: Norwalk Post Number: 20 Registered: 11-2006 |
My Grandmother retired from Hudsons in 1974. Her whole career was spent in the maternity department. I remember my grandfather retired a few years before her and in the summer he and I would go fishing on the Detroit River. We would always tell her to look for us at noon where we would line ourselves up with the Hudson's bldg. and stand up in the boat and wave our hats. She always said she was waving back. I took her back there the final week it was open and I was amazed how many people she ran into that she knew who still worked there. I am fortunate to have all here 5 year pins from working there | ||
Elevator_fan Member Username: Elevator_fan Post Number: 17 Registered: 04-2004 |
The elevators defined Hudson's. In fact, my handle comes from my affection for Hudson's elevators. 97 cabs, all with pneumatically-operated brass gates. Wherever you were in the building, you would hear the distinctive whoosh and rattle of the compressed air moving the doors open and shut. And with manual controls requiring a manual leveling-off at each floor, riding them was a roller-coaster like experience. As for the overall atmosphere of excitement and class, the only department store that I think rivals Hudson's is London's Harrods. They even have the same elevators there. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 904 Registered: 04-2006 |
Funny I don't ever recall Hudson's having wooden escalators, though I remember Crowley's having them. | ||
Mtm Member Username: Mtm Post Number: 177 Registered: 06-2006 |
I DESPISE Harrods. Their sales clerks are quite snotty and they charge a freaking pound (couldn't figure out how to code the L sign) to use the loo. That about $1.50 just to take a leak! I once tried to buy a hat there but you can't try them on yourself. The sales clerk selects them from glass cases and puts them on you. I'm small and the woman kept putting HUGE ones on me so I looked like a character from the old kiddie show "Lidsville". I ended up laughing so hard we had to leave. I could also tell that the clerk was quite irritated by my laughter. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 907 Registered: 04-2006 |
Lidsville... all I can think of is Charles Nelson Reiley dressed like a freak driving a giant hat around! http://www.70slivekidvid.com/l ids/whodfly1.jpg | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 6037 Registered: 09-2005 |
Mtm, Harrods is, of course, so very British and wouldn't appreciate your sense of humor or your impeccable taste in clothing. But don't be too hard on them - they face a clientele from all over the world (try shopping there when the sheiks/Saudi princes and their entourages are in town and dumping millions) and must treat everyone equally (read: royalty) I'm sure if you got them out to the pub and loosened up a bit they could tell you stories that would be unrivaled in the customer-from-hell category. It is good to know that at one time, our Hudsons could go nose-to-nose with Harrods and be equal - or a tad better. | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 798 Registered: 02-2006 |
quote: Elevator_fan, my father used to run a behavioral health center in Central Illinois. They ran out of space in their location, so they ended up buying a vacant former furniture/department store downtown that was 5 floors, as I remember. They completely remodeled this vacant building and ended up having to replace the old manual elevators (that remained until this remodeling took place, in around 1998ish). The point of the story is that he kept the controls from one of the elevators in his office, where it probably remains today (he has since left the company). Not the exact one:  | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 6038 Registered: 09-2005 |
One important point to remember about Hudsons: Hudsons served Detroit during both eras when Detroit was the wealthiest city on Earth - during the 1920's and the 1940's - when no other place known to man rivaled the money in the D during those times. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 8172 Registered: 12-2003 |
Good call, Karl. ONE thing I remember about Hudsons...they had a red button just about at height for ONLY a two- or three-year old toddler to discover under the curl of the treadmill handrail of the escalator that when investigated got LOTS of attention...as the escalator screeched to an instant halt. Does ANYONE have copies of the COVERS of the Sears catalogs from that time frame? I'm trying to find out WHEN they had one with a family holding the book with a picture of them holding the book...need to know which year that was! | ||
Ltdave Member Username: Ltdave Post Number: 31 Registered: 09-2006 |
Sperry's Dept store in downtown Port Huron (Mich) has the same type of manual elevators... it recently held a House of Denmark but no one there knew how to run the elevator so it was Stair Time... sadly it sits empty now... i only remember shopping at Downtown Hudson's once when i was 4 or 5. i got so shop on that one floor that parents werent allowed (for Christmas). i got my Dad a little shoe shine kit in a leather pack that he still has to this day... david | ||
Detourdetroit Member Username: Detourdetroit Post Number: 258 Registered: 10-2003 |
why'd they tear it down again? | ||
Mcwalbucksnfitch Member Username: Mcwalbucksnfitch Post Number: 41 Registered: 10-2006 |
I was at work today (I work for the Starbucks inside of Macy's) and a gentleman came up and said, "Did this store used to be Hudson's?" Anyway, we got into a 20 minute conversation about the store and it turned out he worked at Hudson's downtown for 40 years in the young men's department. It's amazing what you can learn from having a conversation with someone. |
